Author Q&A with Jack Waddington
CM
We're working with London based author, Jack Waddington on his debut book, 'I'm On A Journey To See You Sam' scheduled for release in Spring 2026. Here's a ShadowScript Sessions Q&A with Jack moderated by our founder, Conor...
Q What’s the question you wish readers would ask about your work, but never do?
A What's it like addressing the dead?
Q What was the first idea, image, or line that kicked this novel into motion?
A I think I had always wanted to write about my brother, but with him alive it seemed bizarre to do so. On the night he died, I was on a train from London to Hampshire knowing that he had died and there was nothing I could do. I needed to talk to him. So I wrote to him on my notes app. 'I’m on a journey to see you, Sam' was my first message.
Q If your book had a soundtrack, what three tracks would absolutely have to be on it, and why?
A That's the perfect but most cruel question of all! How can you narrow it down to just three? As it's Sam's book, I guess I'd have to choose the last song he listened to on his Spotify: 'Rewind' by Paulo Nutini. It’s fitting because we’d do anything to rewind time. Then I'm picking some of my soppy songs - sorry, Sam. Something like 'Pictures of You' by The Cure. Pictures and memories are all I have left, and they bring my bro back to life for a moment. Then we'll go with something like 'Listen to the Lion' by Van the man Morrison – because I had to dig deep and listen to the king of the jungle inside me to roar these words out.
Q What rule of writing do you break on purpose and what do you get out of breaking it?
A I spell words incorrectly because why the hell not! I like playing around with words, making up new ones, like the bossman, Salman Rushdie.
Q What’s the most unexpected place your writing has taken you; geographically, emotionally, or otherwise?
A Tesco express! Never thought I'd be writing a book whilst getting a meal deal in a supermarket.
Q Which character (or idea) in your book argued with you the most while you were writing? Who won?
A My own guilt, which always wins.
Q What’s the strangest bit of research you’ve ever had to do for your book?
A Not research for the book exactly, but I do remember writing about how I'd googled: 'how to have a wedding when you're an introvert'.
Q What part of the writing process do you secretly look forward to, even if you pretend you don’t?
A Has to be the editing. I'm a perfectionist. I love tweaking things and calming the chaos.
Q When did you realise the story was no longer yours alone—that it belonged to readers too?
A When people in the MD community said they needed to read this.
Q What’s a belief about storytelling that you’ve completely changed your mind about in the last five years?
A That you don't have to be articulate. I'm crap at articulating myself in person. But when writing to Sam there's no pressure.
Q Which tiny detail in the book means the most to you personally; something readers might easily miss?
A When Sam comes alive for a second. When he replies to me.
Q What non-writing activity most improves your writing, even if it makes no logical sense?
A Long, aimless walks. I need one write now, actually.
Q If you could have one reader reaction in perpetuity; laughter, tears, outrage, scribbling in the margins...what would it be?
A I'd love to have people scribbling in the margins. Or dog-earring the pages like there's no tomorrow.
Q What nearly made the final draft but didn’t, and why?
A All of Sam's lists! The editor made a bold decision and it helps the book read better - so thanks!
Q Which author (living or dead) would completely understand your work and why does that amuse you?
A Tough one! I guess someone who knows grief, and how it can be brutal and mundane. Someone like Isabelle Allende – one of my favs. I'm sure she'd get it. She gets a lot.
Q If your book were a place readers could physically visit, what should they pack?
A A sense of humour.
Q What’s the single bravest decision you made while writing this book?
A Spilling my beans. All of them.
Q What’s the biggest misconception people have about your genre and how does your work challenge it?
A That they're not just reading a grief book, and they shouldn't expect an answer. Truth is you never recover.
Q If your future self, ten years from now, sent you a note about your writing, what do you think it would say?
A Keep letting it out, Jackyboy, no matter what the others think.
©Conor MacGiolla Bhuí, MSc November 2025.
*Original art by Jack Waddington ©